Guess Hoo! Hoo!

While searching for Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) on an alder flat along the Duckabush River last week, something caught my eye as it took flight. It soon landed in a nearby tree and, to my surprise, was a large owl. For about 40 minutes, it looked curiously around its setting--mostly in the direction of noisy squirrels and song birds.

We knew that it was either the endangered spotted owl or the "invasive" barred owl. Although the barred owl is usually larger, they look quite similar in marking, so the best way to id them is by their sound. In those 40 minutes, the thing made nary a peep--or hoot rather. Try as we might to entice a little song, we couldn't get it to respond to our terrible calls with anything more than a skeptical blink of the eyes.

The Park's owl biologist later identified it as the barred owl. Although these guys are taking over what's left of the spotted owl habitat out here, it was pretty special to get to spend time with this creature.

What day is it?

Dosewallips. Seattle. Pittsburgh. Duckabush. Our little yellow house.

That pretty much sums up that last few weeks. First, I got to spend time deep in Olympic National Park; we clamored over charcoal stumps and unscathed vine maple flats, where fires had burned last summer, in search of the not-so-elusive weeds: Geranium robertianum (stinky bob) and Cirsium arvense (canada thistle). The sun shone so brightly and intensely each day that I could barely resist jumping in the glacial fed Dosewallip River.

Luckily, when Justin and I arrived in Pittsburgh for his cousin's wedding, there was plenty of water fun to be had. Not only did we go to the biggest pool I've ever seen, but we also spent a day (along with his family) at a theme park with waterslides (and funnel cake)! I didn't realize until then, that there are very few outdoor pools here in the Pacific Northwest; I spent many-a-summer during my youth hanging out at the pool, perfecting my cannon ball, and eating sweet tarts from the snack bar. I know the weather here doesn't really inspire summer pool lounging and that we have lots of naturally occurring bodies of water to enjoy, but nothing feels more like summer than hanging at the pool amidst the scents of chlorine and suntan lotion while taking in the sights.
I digress, Pittsburgh was more than a day at the pool. It was so nourishing to get to spend time with Justin's family and to explore the steel city. I have a crush on Pittsburgh with its old brick buildings, no nonsense attitude, Pamela's Pancakes, and Justin's family, friends, and familiar places.

The day we got back from Pittsburgh, I went back into the woods in search of more weeds. What a contrast!

Finally, I am home in our little yellow house. The garden has exploded and the tastiest native berries of the summer are now ripe ripe RIPE! Yes, I spent today at work picking thimbleberries and trailing blackberries--one for my mouth, one for the Elwha Project; one for my mouth, one for the Elwha Project....

A trailing blackberry pie is in the near future....stay tuned.

A fruitful occasion...

Last weekend, Justin and I had a wild and crazy Friday night. We stayed up until almost 2am...making jam! That's right, we were jammin'. We were physically exhausted the next day--probably a result of the late night, the hot and steamy kitchen, and the lbs. of strawberries consumed during the process.

I can't help it; the fleeting nature of summer fruit in combination with their sweet, juicy flavortasticness makes every bellyache worth the minor discomfort. Did I mention that, on the same day, we also received a bag of fresh apricots harvested from a tree in my parent's yard in Illinois? Bellyache...so worth it.

We attempted to make two varieties of strawberry jam: honey sweetened (with pectin) and sugar sweetened (without pectin). The honey sweetened jam turned out great! The sugar sweetened jam turned out to be a less viscous strawberry SYRUP--great for pancakes and french toast.

Happy Bellyache Season, friends!

Strawberry-Honey Jam
Yields about 5 pints

• 8 cups of strawberries, cleaned, with stems removed, and cut into halves
  
• 1 cup honey
• 4 t. Pomona’s pectin
• 4 t. calcium water made from packet included with pectin

1. Put strawberries and calcium water into a saucepan and bring to a light boil.
2. While strawberries are warmin' up (keep stirring), mix pectin into the honey.
3. When berries boil, which looks more like foaming, add honey and stir vigorously for 2 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and pour into sterilized jars.
5. Boil in a water bather for 10 minutes.

Don't forget to lick your fingers!

Our berry-processing center.

The garden grows!

Where do all of those seeds go?

So, I keep mentioning that we're collecting native seed in order to grow plants for "revegging" after the Elwha Dams come out. Well, those seeds have to go to a place where they can be--in my opinion-- magically transformed (aka follow the cycle of life) into PLANTS! Turns out, these seeds and eventual plants needs quite a bit of TLC. Hence, the existence of the Matt Albright Native Plant Center (aka Olympic Park's nursery).

This nursery was constructed especially for the Elwha's restoration; and it is quite cush! If I were a plant, I would want to spend my younger years soaking up the sun and on-demand water right here. That said, the plants wouldn't be flourishing like they are without Dave, the nursery manager, and all of the lover-ly volunteers that keep things cared for and moist. I get to spend about 50% of my time here too.

Me in a sea of green
(which all needs transplanting, want to help?)

The canyard: where the plants go to harden up.

A test: what plants will grow best in the worst sediment?